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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22909204">for a thousand more</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion'>lavenderlotion</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Disabled Character, Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Love Confessions, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-X-Men: Dark Phoenix (Movie), Telepathy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:35:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,094</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22909204</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Erik Lehnsherr,” Charles began, but his smile was too wide for it to sound like the scolding he intended it to be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>122</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>for a thousand more</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Charles leaned forward, ignoring the long-since familiar ache in his lower back that such a motion caused. It had been many years since he was able to move without any sense of discomfort and he had gotten used to the slight twinges that raced up his spine when moving a certain way. He pushed through the pinch as he reached for his teacup, sparing a thought to how much more satisfying a glass of a rich wine would have been and how coolly that would have contrasted with the warm sun glancing across his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Goodness, he was old.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sitting back in his chair, Charles took a slow sip of tea and let it sit on his tongue before swallowing it down. It had been...well, more years than Charles would have liked to count since he'd last had the time to sit around and enjoy a glass of tea without any pressing responsibilities. The freedom was so, so bittersweet. Sighing, Charles tipped his head down and allowed himself a moment to mourn. He found that if he allowed himself to feel his grief while it was the strongest he was better able at coping with the loss of the only family member he'd ever truly had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After allowing himself a moment, Charles did his best to work through the pain. Unlike the years in which he had readily fallen into a bottle if only to make it easier to ignore the way he was deafening his mutation in favour of being able to walk, Charles no longer tried to push away his pain and ignore his sorrow. He was doing his damnedest to process the loss of his sister in as healthy a way possible, and he rather thought Raven would be quite proud of him—a thought that stung more than it soothed for how too-little-too-late it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking another sip of his tea, Charles tried to focus on those around him. It had been a great many years since he'd last let the thoughts of others wash over him without paying too great attention. Working alongside the president had been much more work than Charles had ever let show, and it had been many years since he listened to the thoughts of others simply to observe and not with the express intent of protecting mutant kind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was nice. Charles took another sip of tea and felt the warm sun against the bridge of his nose and did not allow himself to think back on another time, decades and decades ago, when the sun had been warm against his skin. That wretched day was one better not thought about, especially if Charles was already feeling down like he was. Charles took another sip of his tea and berated himself for not having brought a journal or a book to read, finding it rather hard to be alone with his thoughts when loss was so fresh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He focused on the thoughts of others around him, trying to lose himself in the easy cadence of his telepathy. He still, at times, longed to get the years back wherein he'd locked away his mutation. Now that he had his powers back, Charles couldn't understand why he had ever locked them away. Being cut off from his mutation felt like being cut off from a sense and it was a sensation he never wanted to experience again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles focused on the cool air and the warm sun, listening to the thoughts of the Parisians around him and focusing on the mundane issues they were facing. Biting down a yawn, he pushed through just how tired he was. After a lifetime spent fighting he was definitely ready for a bit of a holiday even if it pained him to have to leave the school. He knew that Hank had things under control and that, quite possibly, he had things under </span>
  <em>
    <span>better</span>
  </em>
  <span> control than Charles had, who could now admit he had lost sight of why the institute had initially been founded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something familiar brushed Charles consciousness, and it was jarring enough that he focused in on the thought pattern he recognized but never would have imagined hearing in this city.</span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Oh,</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span> Charles projected, unable to help himself from the fondness he felt bleeding through his thoughts as he slowly pressed his mind up against one he would know until the end of time. </span>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Hello, old friend.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Erik's mind was one he would always know no matter how many years passed by. He tipped his head back and directed a smile heavenward at the familiar rush of Erik’s mind. It felt so good to be exploring his thoughts again and Charles couldn't help his widening smile at the changes he noted. Erik had calmed down over the years that had passed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While dealing with Jean there had been far too much going on for Charles to have a chance to explore Erik's mind like this and it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>heavenly.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Goodness, but he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> very glad that he had the time now, after so long of them being apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a way, being within Erik’s mind felt like coming home. For the last many years Charles had felt lost. No matter how busy he was or how much he achieved, it always felt as though there was something missing. It was very clear to him now that what has been missing all these years was Erik. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn't need to open his eyes to watch Erik's approach. Erik without his helmet was a lovely treat that Charles fully intended on savouring as he watched Erik approach through the other man's eyes, unable to help the way his smile grew even further when Erik saw him and his thoughts lit up with an undeniable amount of joy that Charles allowed himself to soak in. It felt so good; Charles allowed himself to be greedy as he basked in the feeling of Erik's affection for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, he levelled out his head, watching himself through Erik’s eyes as he smiled. His grin widened as he felt Erik’s mind light up with appreciation. Charles had never seen himself as particularly gorgeous, but Erik felt so strongly that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was,</span>
  </em>
  <span> even now after decades of age had worn him down, that it was impossible to believe himself to be anything else. Erik still thought him so lovely it made his chest ache. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles let his eyes blink open so he could watch Erik back, his own thoughts feeling unbearably soft as he looked at the man he still loved even after so many decades spent apart. He smiled, his grin softer than it had been in more years than Charles wished to count. There was an awareness of his chair that made it very clear as to how Erik had found him in the middle of a city neither of them was incredibly familiar with, and Charles watched as he approached with growing anticipation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His grin only grew wider when Erik came and sat across from him. There was a chessboard tucked under his arm, something Charles knew from the way he was selfishly sorting through his thoughts and greedily taking in his appearance with hungry eyes. There had been a few weeks, lifetimes ago, when Charles had known Erik’s mind even better than he knew his own, but it had been a very long time since that had been the case. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Given the opportunity now, Charles found he couldn’t muster the will to hold himself back. Erik placed the board on the table and then looked at Charles with a grin of his own. His thoughts were a soft haze of pleasantness that Charles found himself readily getting lost in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good afternoon, old friend,” Erik greeted him, and then just for Charles, added, </span>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>You look wonderful today. This city agrees with you.</span>
    </em>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>Flatterer,</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span> Charles accused fondly, smiling so wide that his vision blurred for a moment. Goodness, was he </span>
  <em>
    <span>blushing? </span>
  </em>
  <span>“What are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Having lunch with you, of course,” Erik told him easily, as if that made perfect sense. As if they had lunch together in Paris all the time. As if it hadn’t been </span>
  <em>
    <span>decades</span>
  </em>
  <span> since they last had lunch together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles was too old and too weary to fight it, so instead, he smiled and inclined his head. If Erik wanted to sit and eat lunch with him in Paris, Charles wasn’t going to turn him away, especially not when it was so nice to see Erik again, calmly and without any attached heartache, after so many years. He was still entangled enough with Erik’s thoughts that he could tell just how nervous the other man was even if he was doing his best to appear confident. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reassured that he wasn’t the only one not entirely sure of their place, Charles leaned forward to place his tea down on the table before settling himself back in his chair. Erik was stunning, his face covered in a layer of stubble that Charles found quite appealing, and he made sure to press his appreciation forward. He grinned even wider when Erik began to blush, wanting nothing more than to take them somewhere private and catch up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s been too long,” Charles murmured quietly, his smile firmly in place. Erik nodded and his agreement was easy to feel through the bond along the back of his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve missed you,” Erik told him easily. It was a sign of how many years had passed that he said the words so frankly when once, many, many years ago, Erik hadn’t been able to articulate his feelings nearly as smoothly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles inclined his head in agreement, his heart aching as he said, “And I you.” He kept it at that, knowing this was no place for long-forgotten resentment. There had been a long while during which Charles had been so, so angry at Erik for leaving him, but so very much had happened since those years that it hardly felt right to dwell on that now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wondered if we could play a bit of chess?” Erik asked. He opened the folded board in his hand and a full set of pieces floated into the air and began to arrange themselves before softly landing on the board Erik straightened out. It was an adorable set but missing two pawns, the reason for which became clear when Erik held out both fists with a raised brow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Charles gave him a grin and refocused himself back to the fact that Erik was sitting across from him in Paris and any misdeeds between them were decades old. His thoughts were blended so easily with Erik’s that he could see exactly what the man had planned even as Erik ran through the alphabet in his mind to keep Charles from seeing his intentions. It was a worthwhile effort, had Charles been glimpsing the surface of Erik’s thoughts and hadn’t entrenched himself within his mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His smile grew softer as his heart began to ache, feeling full enough that it could split from his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Erik Lehnsherr,” Charles began, but his smile was too wide for it to sound like the scolding he intended it to be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Charles Xavier,” he parroted back with a growing smile, having no doubt realized that Charles was in his mind and had seen what he had planned. Still, he raised an eyebrow and urged Charles to pick a hand, so with a smile that was bordering on a manic grin, he reached out for Erik’s right hand with his left and gently unfolded Erik’s hand with his fingers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I chose this one,” Charles told him, his hand turning Erik’s and only letting go once he began to unfurl his fingers, revealing a white pawn as well as a gleaming, white ring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have spent more years than I wish to count missing you and more still loving you. I truly believe this has always been the end of our paths. Charles Xavier, will you marry me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He happily reached through Erik’s mind to where the awareness of metal that was his mutation sat and floated the ring through the air and onto his finger, a pleased smile erupting over his face when Erik shivered. The ring was loose for a single moment before it shrunk down to fit Charles’ finger perfectly, and Charles already knew there was a matching, black ring in Erik’s other hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>
      <span>I love you,</span>
    </em>
  </span>
  <span> he pressed directly into Erik’s mind, a tear of pure joy slipping out of his eyes when Erik thought the words back. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>come say hi to me on <a href="https://lavender-lotion.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>!<br/>comments and kudos are much appreciated!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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